So many ordinary people became heroes in the dark days before and during WW II.
Originally shared by Self-Rescuing Princess Society
“They did it because it was the right thing to do, nothing more, nothing less.”
Even so, it was incredible brave. While they weren’t smuggling people out of the Germany, they were helping folks escape by smuggling their material wealth, against Nazi law. And doing it completely under the noses of the Nazi boarder guards.
Jews leaving Germany in the 1930s weren’t allowed to take their possessions, and would have had to surrender them at the boarder. But, many countries accepting refugees, like the UK, required each person to have a means of supporting themselves — money and a job. It was a terrible catch-22 for many.
By helping to smuggle their money and furs and jewels, they helped the escapees meet both of those requirements.
Mike Reeves-McMillan lives in Auckland, New Zealand, the setting of his Auckland Allies contemporary urban fantasy series; and also in his head, where the weather is more reliable, and there are a lot more wizards. He also writes the Gryphon Clerks series (steampunk/magepunk), the Hand of the Trickster series (sword-and-sorcery heist capers), and short stories which have appeared in venues such as Compelling Science Fiction and Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores.
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